Fastmetal

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I got a little bonus at work and after I put some in the 401K and the kids college fund I am going to treat myself to a new brewing toy and have it narrowed down to a grain mill or a plate stirrer.

What say you fellow brew geeks?

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Kegs- Wheat, APA, Chocolate Milk Stout, IPA
Primary- Pale, Graff, Pinot Noir

sweetcell

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the grain mill will allow you to go all-grain - it'll save you money, among other benefits.

stirrer will result in better starters, achieving fermentation faster, ability to use older yeasts with more confidence, etc.

if your fermentation has been doing OK up until now, i'd say go for the grain mill.

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Drinking: Not So Random (Belgian) Blond, Cranial Cap DIPA, Dubbel Down
Fermenting: Belgian Imperial Stout + its second runnings.
Aging: Vertical Epic 09.09.09 clone, 09.09.09 2nd runnings w/brett, Farewell to Eurocrats (Chocolate BDSA), Lucky Number Tripel, Saison & On & On w/brett, Midnight in Brussels BDSA w/brett, Breakfast of Champions Stout v2 (~KBS clone)

slarkin712

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A grain mill is the way to go. With a grain mill you can buy grain in bulk and mill it when needed. And buying grain in bulk can save you a lot of money. Thus the grain mill sort of pays for itself. I have a Barley Crusher and it works great. I hooked up a motor to it, and milling grain is so easy now. You can build your own stir plate for $20-$30 and it will work just as well as a store bought one.

snccoulter

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What he said^

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Deric

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+2

Buy a mill. Then, build a stir plate!

LuiInIdaho

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The grain mill will offer an opportunity to save more money. The stir plate is an easy DIY project. Mark

TitusCooker

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The stir plate, while an easy to make DIY project, will have more impact on any type of brewing. The mill will be specific to all grain. Eventually you will need both, but I would recommend the stir plate and related equipment to step up your yeast count first. FWIW

SGFBeerBuzz

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Mill is more important, especially of you don't have a LHBS that does a good job grinding grain.

The Home Brewery is my LHBS, and so far I let them grind for me.

However, I think you should buy a mill and build a stir plate. If I had a sudden cash inflow, I sure would.

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jamest22

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+1 for stir plate. It will improve the quality of any beer you brew. Period. You can crush the grains as spectacularly as you wish, but in the end underpitching or using unviable yeast can ruin the beer. IMO an extract beer brewed with a proper pitch of healthy yeast and a properly managed fermentation will be better than an all grain beer with a poor yeast pitch. Better yet, buy the grains pre-milled and then use your new stir plate to make an all grain beer with a healthy yeast pitch!

Komodo

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Lotso ways to make starters....one way to mill grain. Get the mill.